For those of us who have been around for a while, we have amessage for you - "The sky is not falling". "It may be raininghard, yes, and there might be some significant water damage, but the sky is notfalling. What we are experiencing is a business cycle and we will be hereagain."
If you say those words to someone who has lost their job, have hadtheir home foreclosed on, or their savings account dissipated, then theythrough their emotion are going to feel very differently. But for those of uswho have watched cycles like this before and have been on both ends of thespectrum, it is very easy to recognize a cycle when it arrives.
Headlines are depressing and unrelenting and most businesses haveseen their customers press the economic "pause" button. But we stillhave a strong fundamental economy and businesses that create technology andservices based on this technology, will continue to flourish.
So what does this all mean to you and the business that you havestarted? It means that you succumb to fear - the fear that you read in thenewspapers and listen to on the television is a waste of your energy and yourtime. You need to stay focused on your needs, your business and your future.You need to be proactive and not sit on your laurels "because things arebad". Today, it will be the early bird that will catch the worm and thebusiness people who are willing to put their shoulder to the wheel, who will beready to jump on the profits when the market rise begins.
Keep your own counsel - Don't listen to others -Believe in You - Have the courage to acknowledge and execute what you need.
Now is the time to position yourself by acknowledging the downturnbut planning for the upturn. It is a time to distinguish yourself and yourproduct line, your services to your customers and the re-establishment andreinforcement of your value propositions. Now is the time to take advantage ofthe fact that you have time to do all of these things.
The one thing it is not the time to do - it isnot the time to do nothing.
